The present invention relates to a device for cleaning lamellas, especially suspended lamellas or slats of vertical blinds of a textile material, the device comprising a housing as well as brush rollers and conveying rollers rotatably supported at the housing which are arranged in pairs and through which the lamellas are guided.
From German Offenlegungsschrift 40 05 162 a device of this kind for cleaning textile lamellas (slats) for vertical blinds etc. is known. A driven brush roller pair is arranged approximately in the center of a housing. A conveying roller pair is arranged upstream and another conveying roller pair is arranged downstream of the brush rollers. Between these three roller pairs as well as before the first conveying roller pair and behind the second conveying roller pair two guide plates are provided respectively for guiding the lamellas. The plates are spaced apart from one another in the vertical direction and the lamellas are pushed or pulled through the resulting gap for performing the cleaning process. Furthermore, two suction nozzles that are placed congruently one atop the other are provided in the guide plates downstream of the second conveying roller pair. The suction nozzles are provided for removing a cleaning liquid that is supplied to the lamellas directly before insertion into the pair of brush rollers.
Even though the known cleaning device requires an extraordinary constructive expenditure a satisfactory cleaning of the lamellas is not achievable. Even though the lamellas are guided by the guide plates arranged between the individual roller pairs, folds and wrinkles within the lamellas cannot be prevented because the lamellas are at least partially conveyed through the device by pushing forces and not exclusively by pulling forces. In the area of a fold or wrinkle dirt cannot be removed at all or cannot be removed satisfactorily. Furthermore, the lamellas may be damaged when a fold is forced through the conveying roller pair. A disturbance-free operation is therefore not ensured at all times.
A significant disadvantage of the known device is that the cleaning liquid that has been sprayed onto the lamellas is removed by suction downstream of the second conveying roller pair. With this second conveying roller pair the cleaning liquid together with the removed dirt is again pressed into the lamellas, and the suction effect of the suction nozzles, which are congruently positioned above one another and are therefore greatly reduced in their efficiency, is thus substantially reduced so that despite the great constructive expenditure a deep and through cleaning of the lamellas cannot be achieved.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device of the aforementioned kind that is of a simple construction and therefore is economical in its manufacture, but also ensures that lamellas which are greatly soiled can be cleaned intensively and in a short period of time. A folding or wrinkling during conveying of lamellas through the device should be prevented so that possible damage to the lamellas and an insufficient cleaning effect are prevented. Furthermore, a disturbance free operation of the device and a simple operation should be provided, whereby it is a further aspect of the present invention to make it possible that the cleaned lamellas can be directly remounted after completion of the cleaning process.